


The Happiest Things

by scorperion21



Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: CC Compliant, Established Relationship, Fluff, Love Confession, M/M, Patronus Charm, Post Cursed Child, basically it's just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-12-13 18:14:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21002018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scorperion21/pseuds/scorperion21
Summary: In which Harry comes to assist in Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Albus and Scorpius practice the Patronus charm.





	The Happiest Things

“Albus, come on, you need to wake up!” Scorpius almost feels guilty that his loud voice is interrupting Albus’ dreams, but he is so anxious not to be late today that it fizzles out instantly. 

Albus, as though he is aware of this, simply mumbles something incoherent and buries his face further into his pillow without opening his eyes. 

“Albus!” Scorpius whines, flapping his hands and going to sit next to Albus’ sleepy form. 

“Five more minutes Scor.” Albus’ grumble is clearer this time, but it doesn’t make Scorpius feel any better. 

“Albus you’ve had so many extra five minutes!” Scorpius exclaims. He thinks he’s being fair – he had originally wanted to get up nearly an hour ago to get in some extra cramming before breakfast, but Albus had wanted to stay in bed and cuddle (which Scorpius had admitted was a much more appealing prospect and it hadn’t taken much persuasion for him to abandon his revision plan). Albus had promised he would be awake by the time Scorpius got out of the shower and got dressed, but evidently he had fallen asleep again. 

“A few more minutes isn’t going to hurt.” 

“It will!” Scorpius knows he is practically wailing now, but he is getting anxious about the time. If they don’t leave now they’re not going to have time to get to breakfast and reach class on time. And Albus isn’t even dressed yet! 

“You need to calm down Scor.” Albus’ voice is still thick with sleep, but he peeks up at Scorpius with amused eyes, and Scorpius realises he is being teased. 

“Albus, don’t make fun of me.” Scorpius says, pouting. He’s not really upset; in fact he enjoys it when Albus is in a playful, upbeat mood. 

“Sorry.” Albus finally wriggles into a sitting position; his hair is in complete disarray and there’s a pillow crease imprint on his face. Scorpius feels a sudden rush of affection so strong he’s almost certain it’s making him dizzy. It must show in his smile because Albus looks at him quizzically. 

“What?” 

“Nothing. You’re cute, is all.” 

Albus rolls his eyes, but his cheeks flush a little and Scorpius knows he has taken the compliment. 

“Flattery isn’t going to get me out of bed Scorpius Malfoy.” 

Scorpius laughs, but the bubble of anxiety that had been pushed aside rises up again. Albus seems to realise, because he takes Scorpius’ hands in his and squeezes. 

“I’ll get up now on one condition.” he says. 

“What’s that?” 

“You give me a kiss.” Albus smiles cheekily, and Scorpius laughs for real this time. 

“Oh, I think I can manage that.” 

Albus smiles, and so Scorpius leans in to softly brush his lips against Albus’. He still can’t believe that he is allowed to do this now, that he can kiss Albus outside the realm of his dreams. It has been a few months since his and Albus’ relationship progressed from platonic, and Scorpius still thanks his lucky stars every day that it did. They haven’t said the ‘L’ word yet, but Scorpius is falling faster and harder for Albus every day, and he doesn’t think it will be long before he can’t contain it anymore. 

When he pulls away, Albus has a small blissful smile on his face. Scorpius realises he is probably sporting an identical expression. 

“Okay, I’ll get up now.” Albus says, and he immediately clambers out of bed as though saying it is the only thing that will spur him into action. 

“Yay, thank you!” Scorpius gets up too, and starts packing his bag ready for the day as behind him he hears the quiet shuffling of Albus getting dressed. Scorpius can’t fit his Defence Against the Dark Arts book in his bag, so he tucks it under his arm instead. It’s their first class after all, and the thing he is most excited about today. _Finally_, after weeks of theory, they are having a practical lesson on the Patronus charm, and Scorpius is excited to get going. Deep down, he thinks Albus is too, but Harry is coming in as a guest lecturer to assist during the class and Scorpius isn’t sure how Albus feels about that. He thinks it might have something to do with his reluctance to get up though. 

As they walk to breakfast, Scorpius slips his free hand into Albus’. Seemingly on instinct, Albus squeezes his fingers, and Scorpius can’t stop a small smile flickering across his face at the sheer miracle of it all. 

“How are you feeling about this morning?” Scorpius asks quietly, and it takes Albus a couple more steps to reply. 

“Okay, I think. I mean, it’s a bit weird that my dad’s going to be teaching me but we’re getting on a lot better now, you know?” 

Scorpius nods, because he does know. They are in their sixth year now, and while the events of their fourth sometimes feel long ago, the aftermath of it is still sending shockwaves. It’s in the nightmares Scorpius still has about the Dark timeline, and the way Albus still trembles when they go down to the Quidditch pitch. It’s also in the way that the Malfoys and Potters are firm friends now, and how both sets of parents are trying to be more open and honest with their sons. 

“I don’t need to ask how you’re feeling.” Albus continues with a grin, and Scorpius smiles back. 

“I’m so excited! Are you not excited?” 

“It’s too early to be excited Scorpius.” Albus says. Scorpius laughs again, and presses a quick kiss to Albus’ cheek before they enter the Great Hall. Predictably, as soon as they’ve sat down, Albus reaches for the coffee pot. Scorpius smiles fondly as he props his book up against a jug of pumpkin juice and pours himself a cup of tea.

“You can’t seriously be reading that now?” Albus exclaims indignantly, and Scorpius looks at him to see a disgruntled expression on his face. 

“Why not?” 

“You always work harder than anyone else Scorpius, in fact I have extreme confidence you’re going to be the first person in our class to produce a corporeal Patronus.” Albus says certainly, helping himself to toast. 

“Do you really think so?” Scorpius asks quietly, flushing slightly. Albus nods, spreading his toast with liberal amounts of jam, not knowing how much of an affect his words have had. Scorpius shuffles slightly closer to him, and stows his book away under the table with his bag. It means the world to him how much Albus trusts him, and has faith in him. It makes his heart glow with that emotion he hasn’t dared voice out loud yet. Albus looks up and catches him staring. 

“Stop looking at me and eat your breakfast. You’re the one that didn’t want to be late!” he says, pointing at the toast rack with his knife. There’s the lovely, carefree smile on his face that Scorpius adores, and Scorpius allows himself to stare for one more minute before helping himself to breakfast. 

They eat in companionable silence; Scorpius knows Albus doesn’t like to talk too much this early, and he himself is running through everything else that will be happening today. He likes Mondays because they start with Defence Against the Dark Arts, but then he and Albus are apart for the rest of the day, which he doesn’t like so much. 

“Ready?” Albus asks as Scorpius finishes the last of his toast. Scorpius nods, and they clamber up and stroll to class, their hands clasped again and swinging between them. They arrive to class early, much to Scorpius’s delight and Albus’ chagrin (“I _could_ have had five more minutes in bed, Scor.”), and Scorpius is surprised to see that their entire class is all already there too. Scorpius supposes it has something to do with the lesson content, and that actual Harry Potter will be there to teach them. 

The door to their classroom swings open, and everyone immediately files into the classroom. The desks and chairs are pushed to the side, and in the middle of the room stands Harry, and their Defence teacher, Professor Corday. Harry sends Scorpius and Albus a smile and a wave as soon as they walk in, and Scorpius immediately smiles and waves back. To his surprise, Albus does exactly the same. 

“Right, I think everyone’s here so let’s start.” Professor Corday calls, and the quiet chatter between the students immediately falls into silence. When the last whisper has been quelled, Professor Corday smiles brightly and continues. “I think all of you know what we’re doing today, but just in case you fell asleep at the end of my last lesson, we’re going to be putting our Patronus theory into practice. We’ve invited Mr Potter here as our guest and to give his advice to us all, so I’ll pass over to him now.” 

If possible, the rooms seems to still and quieten even more as Harry starts talking. “Thank you for having me Professor. I know you’ve done an excellent job of teaching the theory so I’m just here for putting it into practice really. So, I want you to split into pairs first and spread out.” 

There’s a flurry of activity as people split into pairs and move about. Scorpius stays attached to Albus’ side, and they simply move to the side of the room. Harry walks among the students, and shoots another smile at Albus as he passes them. 

“Right, I’m sure you all remember the theory and incantation. Just to start with, I want you to hold a memory in your mind that makes you happy. It can be of anything, your family, your friends, the feeling of riding a broomstick. It just has to be the happiest you can ever remember being. Has everyone got something?” 

There’s a general murmur of agreement from the class. 

“Okay, now you’ve got that you need to focus on it with everything you have. And then you can start the incantation.” Harry says. 

“Perhaps you could give us a demonstration?” Professor Corday says with a smile, and Harry smiles back at her. 

“Of course.” Harry walks back up to the front of the classroom, and raises his wand. “Expecto patronum!” 

A silver stag bursts out of the end of his wand. Scorpius feels a smile on his face as the stag canters around the classroom a couple of times. He thinks there are equal expressions of wonder on everyone else’s faces, and even Albus is smiling a small smile. The stag disappears, and Harry’s hand falls back down to his side. 

“Now, is everyone ready?” Harry asks, looking around, and there’s a more enthusiastic assent of agreement. Scorpius and Albus turn to face each other. Since the first lesson they had on the Patronus charm, Scorpius has known exactly what he’ll think of. When he had faced the Dementors at fourteen, Severus Snape had told him to think of Albus, and he had escaped. Surely if that worked then, now he is sixteen and in a bright classroom, it will work again? Scorpius has never been happier than the past few months with Albus, and even before they were boyfriends he had never had a friend before, and someone who he has shared so many good memories with. 

He looks straight at Albus as he runs through his memories; the first time they met on the Hogwarts Express, the evening of their first night at Hogwarts when Albus had promised that he would be Scorpius’ friend, Albus sticking up for him for the first time which made Scorpius realise that they really were friends. He pictures green eyes laughing at him and moving closer in a variety of settings; the Slytherin common room, their dormitory, the Three Broomsticks. There’s so much inside him he feels that he could possibly burst with happiness. He raises his wand and says the incantation. 

“Expecto patronum!” 

Nothing happens. Scorpius feels himself deflate slightly, and his face falls at the same time he lowers his wand. He sees an identical look of disappointment on Albus’ face, and he realises nothing has happened for him either. In fact, it seems like no one has managed it. 

Professor Corday claps her hands for attention, and everyone turns to look at her. “Don’t be disheartened if nothing happened the first time, just try again!” 

Scorpius steels himself, and faces Albus. He holds the memories in his mind again, and tries the incantation. Nothing happens once more, but he’s not discouraged this time. In fact, he’s determined to get it today. He tries a couple of more times, adding memories of lazy Sunday afternoons by the Hogwarts lake, walking hand in hand with Albus around Hogsmeade, the first time Albus had visited Malfoy Manor after fourth year and Scorpius’ parents had welcomed him to their home with love and acceptance. 

Finally, on the fifth time he tries, a silvery substance emits from the end of his wand, and he feels his heart leap. 

“Did you see that?” Scorpius says excitedly to Albus, and Albus smiles widely back at him. 

“I did, I told you you would do it!” 

“It was only a bit.” Scorpius says modestly. 

“It was still something!” 

“Good job Scorpius!” Harry has appeared at their side, and seems to be agreeing with Albus. “It looks like you’ve found something that works for you, you’ve just got to focus a bit more.” 

Scorpius nods, and raises his wand again. He notices Albus isn’t trying this time, but is watching him, and it makes him feel a little more anxious. 

“Expecto patronum!” A thicker silver substance comes out this time, but it is still a little wispy and disappears almost straight away. 

“You’re doing really well Scorpius. What are you focusing on?” Harry asks, and Scorpius feels himself blush a little. 

“It’s not really specific, just a lot of different memories.” he mumbles, and Harry nods. 

“Okay, try and pick one memory and focus on that with everything you have.” Harry suggests, and Scorpius nods again. He closes his eyes shut tight for a second and tries to pick just one memory of Albus that makes him happier than anything else. It comes to him instantly; the day he had emerged from the lake in the corrected timeline, and Albus had been there to. The relief and happiness he felt then is something that he will never forget. He opens his eyes, and realises that it’s not just Albus watching him now but several others in the class too. He takes a deep breath, focusing entirely on his memory, and raises his wand. 

“Expecto patronum!” it feels different when he says it this time, and out of the end of his wand bursts a shape he doesn’t quite recognise for a moment until it stretches its wings out wide. 

“It’s an owl!” Scorpius says with delight, a grin on his face. Albus is smiling too, and sticks his thumbs up at him. 

“It’s a snowy owl.” Harry says in awe, watching it fly around the room a couple of times. He turns back to Scorpius when it disappears. “Scorpius, well done!” 

“Excellent job Mr Malfoy! I think 20 points to Slytherin will suffice don’t you?” Professor Corday comes over to congratulate him too, and he feels himself blush slightly at the attention. He notices a few mutinous glances and scowls, but he finds that he’s too happy to care. 

“Right, lets see if anyone else can produce a corporeal Patronus before class is up!” Professor Corday starts walking back round the pairs, and everyone starts trying again. Harry claps Scorpius on the shoulder as he passes, and Scorpius smiles to himself. Albus is still grinning, and comes over to him. 

“I knew you could do it! I’m really proud of you.” Albus says, and Scorpius beams, his heart swelling with happiness and warmth. 

“You’re going to do it too.” Scorpius says, and Albus pulls a face at him. 

“Maybe.” 

“I have complete faith in you Al.” Scorpius says, and Albus smiles at him sweetly. 

“I know.” Albus takes a couple of steps back and raises his wand. Scorpius watches him, and after a few more times the silver mist comes out of Albus’ wand too. The look on Albus’ face makes Scorpius feel warm all over again. There’s some commotion and he realises a few more people have produced their own Patronus’ too. Albus’ face falls slightly, and Scorpius’ heart twists. 

"You’re going to do it Al! Come on!” Scorpius smiles at him, encouraging and gentle. He wants Albus to do it _so much_. “Remember what your dad said, focus on one memory that makes you happier more than anything.” 

Albus nods, takes a deep breath, and says the incantation again. Something winged bursts out of Albus’ wand and flies around their heads. 

“I did it!” Albus grins, and Scorpius’ heart leaps as he goes over to Albus and pulls him into a quick hug. 

“Well done!” 

“Albus, good job!” Harry walks back over to them again, puts his arm around Albus’ shoulders, and the three of them watch the bird flying around. 

“What kind of bird is it?” Albus asks, cocking his head to the side. 

“I don’t know.” Scorpius admits. It’s quite large, and has darker silver wings than the rest of it’s body. Scorpius doesn’t think he’s ever seen one before. 

“Me neither.” Harry says. Albus frowns. 

“I’ve got a free last period, I’ll research it for you.” Scorpius suggests, smiling, and Albus grins at him. 

“Thanks!” 

“Time’s up, guys! Well done everyone, even if you haven’t managed to produce something corporeal today then don’t worry you’ve all done great. And thank you again Harry for coming in.” Professor Corday calls, turning to Harry, and Harry smiles. 

“No problem. It was a pleasure, well done everyone!” Harry looks around, and it’s as though his words dismiss the class more than their Professor, as everyone starts scrambling for their bags. Scorpius slings his bag across his shoulder, and waits for Albus to say bye to his dad. Albus comes over to him, still smiling. 

“I still can’t believe I did it!” he says, and Scorpius smiles too. He can’t believe they both did it either. 

“We did good today.” Scorpius agrees as he takes Albus’ hand and walks out of the classroom. They dither outside, both of them having to go separate ways but neither of them wanting to. They won’t see each other until after last period, and neither of them enjoy being apart very much. 

“I’ll see you later.” Scorpius says softly. 

“Yeah.” Albus says just as softly, before taking a step forward to gently kiss Scorpius. Scorpius feels the warm fizz of happiness in his chest as he kisses him back. 

“See you at dinner.” Albus smiles a little wistfully and then walks away in the direction of the grounds for his Care of Magical Creatures class, and Scorpius starts up the stairs to his Muggle Studies classroom. Even though he’s sad at not seeing Albus for the rest of the day, he carries the image of their Patronus’ like a talisman in his chest and hopes it will be enough to keep him happy until he sees Albus again. 

\- - - 

Later that day, before dinner, Scorpius is lying on his bed on his stomach, with several books on birds he got out of the library spread out in front of him. He is determined to find out what Albus’ Patronus is before he gets back from class, but time is running out. He discards the book he’s just finished, _A Wizard’s Guide to Ornithology_, and pulls the next one towards him. He notices, slightly disheartened, that it’s the second to last one. As he opens _Muggle Birds in a Magical World_, the dormitory door opens and Albus spills into the room. Scorpius is simultaneously happy to see him, and disappointed that he’s not found the name of Albus’ Patronus. 

“Hi Scorp, what are you doing?” Albus asks interestedly, coming over to Scorpius’ bed and peering at the books. 

“Trying to find out what your Patronus is.” Scorpius says, and Albus looks at him in awe. 

“Really?” 

“Of course! I told you I would, didn’t I?” Scorpius says, and Albus grins before leaning in to press a gentle kiss to Scorpius’ forehead. 

“Thank you.” 

“No problem. I think it would help if I saw it again though, please?” Scorpius asks, and Albus nods before sitting on Scorpius’ bed and dropping his bag on the floor. 

“I’m not promising I can do it again.” Albus says quietly, and Scorpius shuffles around so he’s in a sitting position next to Albus. 

“I have complete and utter faith in you.” Scorpius says sincerely, his dark eyes staring into Albus’ bright green. Albus flushes lightly, and Scorpius is happy to know that Albus believes him. Albus sits up straight against the pillows, clears his throat, and pulls his wand out of his pocket. 

“Expecto patronum!” the bird emerges from Albus’ wand and flaps around the top of the bed hangings. Albus’ smile is one of relief, and Scorpius smiles because of how proud and happy he is that Albus has done it again. He’s also a little sad because he can’t remember seeing it in any of the books. Nevertheless, he goes back to his task and continues his search. Albus pulls forward the last book on the bed. 

“Have you looked in this one yet?” 

“Nope, feel free!” Scorpius says, and Albus opens the cover and starts flicking through the pages. They sit side-by-side in companionable silence, reading through the books. Scorpius is starting to feel a little crestfallen, when he turns the page and sees a very familiar bird staring back. He gasps delightedly, and thrusts the book at Albus. 

“That’s it isn’t it?” he exclaims excitedly as Albus takes the book from him. 

“It is! Scor, you found it! It’s an albatross.” Albus’ smile is as thrilled as Scorpius feels. A thought occurs to Scorpius, and a laugh bubbles up inside him before he can stop it. 

“What’s funny about an albatross?” Albus asks, frowning. 

“Albus-tross.” Scorpius explains with a grin, and Albus rolls his eyes, his expression clearing. 

“I’m going to go and sit on my own bed if you’re going to make terrible puns.” he says dryly. 

“You love it.” Scorpius says playfully, nudging him, and Albus nudges him back. 

“I do.” his expression turns into something serious and he shifts his gaze to stare into Scorpius’ eyes. Scorpius shivers slightly; he loves Albus’ eyes, but sometimes when Albus looks at him, he feels like Albus is staring into his very soul. 

“Thank you.” Albus says sincerely. 

“It’s okay, I wanted to do it.” Scorpius says, thinking Albus is thanking him for finding his Patronus. 

“I didn’t mean just for that. For, you know, everything. You found my Patronus, and you helped it come into being. You believe in me so much, and you’ve been giving me advice for weeks on how to perform one once we got the practical lessons. You... you’re in all my happy memories Scorpius. The fact is, I don’t know if I could even do one if it wasn’t for you.” Albus says, his voice quiet the way he always is when he’s admitting something to do with his feelings. Scorpius feels a lump form in his throat. He loves when Albus is open and honest with him. He slips his hand into Albus’ and squeezes tightly. 

“You’re all _my_ happy memories too Al, because-” he looks back at his boyfriend and his best friend, this boy who saved his life way back when, and saves it every day, and he realises that there might not be a more perfect moment to tell him how he feels. It seemed scary before, but really he thinks he’s been telling Albus for years, and Albus has been telling him back, just not in the exact words. He wants to say them now. “because I love you.” 

Albus seems to miss a beat, and just stares at him in wonder for a second before he flushes pink. A smile of pure delight and love comes over his face, and Scorpius’ heart flutters at the sight. “I love you too Scorpius.” 

Scorpius feels warm all over (and a little relieved, although he didn’t really doubt that Albus would say it back) as he grins widely. He leans in to carefully kiss Albus, bringing his free hand up to cup Albus’ cheek. Albus kisses him back softly, running his fingers through Scorpius’ hair. When they pull away, they’re both smiling, and Scorpius thinks he could stay like this all evening. 

“I love you.” Albus whispers, resting his forehead against Scorpius’ and nudging their noses together. 

“I love you too.” Scorpius whispers back, his heart bursting with happiness. He knows what memory he will use the next time he has to produce a Patronus. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! I always appreciate kudos and comments, and would love to hear what you thought of my interpretation of what Albus and Scorpius' patronus' are! (If you're wondering Albus' Patronus came to me before the pun clicked so that's a very happy coincidence!)  
You can find me on Twitter at: @scorperion21


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